


That's My Spotlight

by KizunaKitsuneUzumaki



Series: Celebrity Life [1]
Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Addiction, Art, F/M, Friendship, Fun, Hate, Instruments, Isolation, M/M, Movie drama, Music Videos - Freeform, Revenge, Road Trips, Romance, Stress, recording sessions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-05-26 12:15:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 20,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6238327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KizunaKitsuneUzumaki/pseuds/KizunaKitsuneUzumaki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Judal is sick of his "colleagues" incompetence. Aladdin feels she is missing something, but she doesn't quite know what. One struggles with recovering from addiction while the other tries to keep from being ripped apart from the inside.<br/>After taking a break from performing, Judal emerges in a city where he hopes a certain King of the Industry won't be. Aladdin struggles to please said King while remaining true to who she is as an artist and who she wants to be as an artist. The two talented entertainers cross paths and are in for an interesting ride. Opposition and support for their relationship comes from unexpected parties. Will they stay as the top artists or will they be sabotaged before they get to enjoy the fruits of their labor?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I'm Done

***Judal***  
Judal was tired of all the crap dancers the Al Thamen label provided him with. They all thought they knew better than him. It’s his fucking music for crying out loud! He wrote all of it during traveling days on his European tour. But the dancers thought their versions of the rhythm and movements were the best way. They had these annoying ‘I’m better then you’ attitudes and he really just didn’t want to deal with a bunch of people who had those attitudes when they couldn’t even dance half as well as him. 

What sucks was that the dancers weren’t even the half of it. His manager kept making him work with rappers, none of whom appreciated his talent, or the stupid, no-talent pop stars whose music was all auto tuned shit, completely computer generated. He was sick of all the bullshit. They wanted to use his name to get bigger paychecks. As if all this crap wasn’t enough, they wouldn’t let him preform with any of the artists he requested. He hated the Al Thamen, they were using him and he hated being used. 

He wanted to switch to a different label, but Kou was working too closely with Al Thamen for his taste and that man-whore Sinbad had denied his request to become part of the Sindria Label.  
To say Judal was pissed was an understatement. After the cluster-fuck that today had been, he was done. So done. He told Ithnan he was taking a break for a while. Said he needed to work on lyrics for his next few albums, get inspired, wanted to take some time to take care of his health. He made up an annoying long-and to his chagrin, mostly true-list of excuses and left without listening to the other’s reply. He turned his back on what he had spent years to build up. He wanted to work with people who did more than record themselves talking and call it music. He wanted to be the best, and Al Thamen was not working well with him at the moment. The shit they had him doing did not broadcast his unrivaled talent and ability to the world, and that really pissed him the fuck off. They were going to ruin him. 

To make matters worse, that idiot Ithnan had gotten him hooked on some shit drug that he really didn’t want to take anymore. He had been drinking more the past year-no, he corrected himself, two years now-and between the two poisons, his body had become a complete and total wreck. He had no stamina and he felt sick all the damn time. He packed up his hotel room and left, calling a taxi and ordering the driver to “take me the hell away from this shithole.”  
He was thinking about going to the house he had in Italy, or maybe renting a place in France. He thought about traveling from country to country for a while. He really just wanted to get the hell out of New York and he didn’t really feel like going back to LA for an extended period of time either. Whenever he did he tended to run into the man-whore. He didn’t want to deal with any more idiots for a little while. After a while of thinking through his options in the back seat of the cab he instructed the driver to take him to the airport. 

Going out of the country meant effort and thinking about languages he only knew the bare minimum of -- if he was going to leave the country he would end up in Italy and despite having a house there his Italian really sucked, why he hadn’t gotten a house in France where he knew the language he had no idea- he did stupid things while under the influence- and there was no way in hell he was going to visit Russia after the last time he had been there, a crazy fan had almost kidnapped him-- and to be perfectly honest he just wasn’t in the mood for a flight that long. So, he purchased a ticket to Las Vegas. The flight was uncomfortable. The woman sitting next to him (probably mid-twenties) kept staring. He pretended to sleep hoping she would stop, but she just ended up being more annoying; in the end he had written a note on his napkin and signed the bottom slipping it to her before he exited the plane-it went something along the lines of ‘Dear Seatmate, it isn’t polite to stare, some people find it extremely annoying. ~Judal. 

He spent a week in Vegas planning out his next few moves. First stop, San Diego, then to Hawaii, onwards to Tahoe, ending his little adventure in Portland, Oregon before he dragged himself to LA and back into the big business. His fan base was solid and he figured some time away from the stage would leave them on the edge of their seats for the next thing he released. 

 

***Aladdin***  
Aladdin was tired. Traveling all over Australia to give concerts then rushing back to the U.S. left her exhausted. Sinbad had even insisted that she ‘keep the ball rolling,’ he wanted her to start recording for a music video tomorrow morning at seven in the morning. She hadn’t even gotten home until after midnight. By the time she had gotten ready and fallen asleep it was two in the morning. 

Recording day started with getting up before-the-freaking-sun. She was so tired. She really wanted to sleep. But no, she had to go learn brand new choreography and block scenes and get makeup and costume and hair done in twenty different styles. She was ready to take a nap before the actual recording even began. She sighed, thinking about the days when she had just been a girl obsessed with the arts. She used to draw and paint everything she saw, she went to all the school dances because she loved to dance all night, she sang while her friends played music at a few different small restaurants and cafes near her apartment. She had preformed in several plays with the theater group she had joined. 

As she heard the director call for places she sighed again, yeah she missed the old days. She loved singing and preforming in front of huge crowds and she was really happy that so many people liked her music, but she missed the freedom she had had before she had become a professional. She pulled enough energy out of her reserve stores and did her best throughout the day.  
When all the recording was over Ja’far and Sinbad walked over to her, the former giving her a copy of the schedule he had organized for her since her usual manager was on vacation with his girlfriend-it was completely booked from six in the morning until nine at night for the next six weeks, ‘Are they crazy?!’- as the latter congratulated her on a job well done. She thanked them before quickly excusing herself saying she was tired and hurrying off to the dressing room that had been prepared for her. 

It would take her almost four hours to get home from this shooting location. She was tired. She kept trying to ignore the fatigue but it was just too much, she was pushing too hard. As she removed the makeup and costume and undid the elaborate hairstyle, she thought about what she had accomplished over the past year and a half. Sinbad had watched one of the musicals she was in and insisted on having dinner with her. Not long after she had signed onto the Sindria Label with Ugo as her manager. She had been successful since then, gaining popularity rather quickly.  
Although she was supposed to be a singer/actor combination from what they had originally discussed, which meant that she was able to create music and act in movies or television shows produced by Sindrian Entertainment, they had yet to have her do any acting. It made her a little sad. She missed acting. They wouldn’t even let her post on her blog without having the post checked by someone in the company to make sure that it didn’t ‘give anything away.’ She loved singing, it’s just that recently she had felt as though she was missing something really important and she had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that she had little time to do things with her friends like she used to. Her only focus was on her work, not that she had minded at first. Not to mention that all her education was online now. She didn’t have time to go to school anymore, she was too busy with work, so she had to squeeze in all the learning she could in her very limited free time. Let’s just say that even though she was an extremely quick learner and had always loved learning new things keeping up with all the work was hard. She was extremely behind where she should have been. 

A yawn escaped her as she left her dressing room in a fitted tank top and baggy sweat pants. She probably should have worked on homework on the ride home but she was too damn tired. In fact, she probably would just sleep at her apartment again, even though she really wanted to see her parents. It was in a more central location so getting around to do work was easier from there than from her parents’ house. Since her mother was ill and constantly bed-ridden and her father was a workaholic, it hadn’t been all that hard to convince them to let her live in an apartment closer to where she worked, it was a really safe area and the buildings security was great so that wasn’t a problem and she had been almost entirely self-sufficient since age twelve. She hadn’t been to her parents house since a few weeks before she had left for the Australian tour, almost a month ago.  
She fell asleep in the car as Sharrkan drove her home. Instead of waking her up he just carried her to her apartment, opened the door with the key she had given him-after having similar incidents to this one happen several times before- and tucked her into bed before scribbling down a quick note to her and leaving it on the table for her to find in the morning, locking the teen into her house and leaving her until the next morning.


	2. Poisons and Disorders

***Judal***  
  
After the first few lessons Judal discovered that he really despised playing the drums. He could appreciate the sound they made and their use in creating well-balanced music. That didn’t stop him from disliking the instrument given his preferred type of playing. He couldn’t vary the music as much as he wanted. He wanted to be able to create the short fast sounds, as well as long, drawn out smooth sounds. The drums didn’t allow him to do that. He continued the lessons until he knew the drums well enough to take his education onto himself, but he despised all of the lessons and all the practicing he forced himself to do.  
  
He spent his days trying to distract himself from the withdrawal and the cravings. He forced himself to stop the drug first, using alcohol to try to dull the effects. It didn’t really work so he just forced himself to stop both of them. It was excruciating. He went sailing, looking at the water and enjoying the wind rush threw his long, black hair. It didn’t help for long. He walked along the beach, he went shopping, he swam in the ocean, but none of it held his interest for long, and once he lost interest it was almost impossible not to give in to his cravings. He didn’t though, looking at it as a new type of challenge, willing himself to get away from the substances he had been poisoning his body with. It was hard, but he was doing it, he was detoxing.

 

***Aladdin***  
It was a hard six weeks. Even after Ugo came back from his two-week vacation with Paimon, things didn’t really get easier. But she made it through somehow, Ugo making sure she ate and slept and Sharrkan making sure she got everywhere she needed to be. At the end of the six weeks she was more exhausted than she had ever felt before, and she felt empty. Writing lyrics and singing only helping lift her spirits momentarily. Ugo noticed and requested that Sinbad give her a few days off to rest after all the work she had done. She had learned new choreography almost every day, getting ready for a big festival Sindrian Entertainment was going to host in a few months. She had recorded a new album and two singles she had written while in Australia. She had worked with a few other artists by cooperating with then in smaller performances in the area. She needed a longer break then the three days Sinbad had allowed however Ugo would take what he could get.  
  
Aladdin took the first day of her break to catch up on sleep and to indulge in her favorite foods. With so much going on she had been eating mostly whatever had been quickest and easiest to eat. Celery and peanut butter, crackers and cheese, an apple here, a protein bar there, her diet recently had been a real mess. And she knew she needed to watch it. Sinbad wouldn’t be happy if she got any heavier, he already wanted her to loose weight. It wasn’t like she was overweight, but celebrities were expected to look like the ideals of society and according to Sinbad and several others, she was pushing it.  
She lost her appetite. She didn’t want that kind of ridicule anymore. She was so sick of all the negative comments. She pushed her plate away and started looking through her phone, looking for news about her favorite singer who had mysteriously disappeared after-in her opinion- a rather disorganized performance with a popular rapper. Nothing. None of his social media held any new information about the singer. She frowned. How annoying.  
  
She changed into workout clothes and made her way to the buildings gym, determined to burn off as many calories as possible. She needed to eat less. If she was thinner then they wouldn’t be able to make any snide remarks about her weight. She sent the entire afternoon in the gym using the treadmill, the bike, the rowing machine, and going through several rounds of weight machines to work on her arms, legs, back, and stomach muscles. She did sit-ups, crunches, push-ups, squats, and planks. She jumped rope and did jumping jacks. Every few minutes she drank water, making sure to stay hydrated. She had made that mistake once on the day of a concert and it almost turned out horribly. She worked in the gym until her body was shaking, her muscles unable of continuing the abuse. She walked slowly back to her room, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. She forced herself to eat salad for dinner, adding chicken for protein and using lemon juice as a dressing. Not the best salad she had ever had, but dressing had a lot of calories and lemon juice was supposed to help balance a person’s pH levels which assisted in loosing weight. After eating the bland meal she crawled into bed without bothering to change or shower and passed out.  
  
She woke up in the middle of the next morning, sunlight bothering her eyes and refusing to allow her any more rest. She dragged herself into the shower to wash off the grimy feeling she had from yesterday. She pulled on a bathrobe after she finished and walked out of her room and towards the kitchen in time to hear the doorbell ring. She opened the door and found Ugo with coffee cups in hand. She moved out of his way and he let himself in, moving to the kitchen and setting down the two coffee cups before pulling out ingredients to make the two of them breakfast. He noticed that she didn’t eat much, but knew better than to say anything. Aladdin had always been rather sensitive about her weight. The recent comments from Sinbad, photographers, and costume designers had only made the young girl more self-conscious and worried about her body. Ugo really wished that she wouldn’t worry about it. She was perfectly healthy.  
  
The last day of her break was very much the same as the first two. Ugo made her breakfast, she did school work for a while until her focus began to drift, at which point she made her way to the gym and forced herself to go through another monstrous workout. That night she just didn’t eat dinner.


	3. Beginnings of Recovery

***Judal***  
  
In Hawaii he played music alongside the locals. It was different from how he usually played. It was interesting. He had wanted to play with them and dance alongside their professionals when he had had a concert here a year ago, but he hadn’t had enough time, not that his manager would have let him do it anyway. He spent his time studying it all now.  
  
He started using the gym in his hotel. It was slow going. His muscles all protested, screaming to stop. The first few weeks he continuously had to run to the bathroom to throw up anything in his stomach. His body was a wreck. But it was getting better. Every day he could do a little more before something made him stop. He was determined to have his body back in top condition by the time his little break was over. That meant by the time he returned he would have fans fainting over ‘leaked’ photos of him running shirtless, the six pack he had lost since he had started his little drinking problem back in all its glory.  
  
He went scuba diving and snorkeling, returning to his room to sketch the underwater beauty he had seen. He hadn’t done much art since joining Al Thamen. His work still looked ready to be put in a manga or a cartoon, still missing the lifelike quality it always had. Now even more so actually. That kinda sucked. Whatever.

 

***Aladdin***  
  
Ugo found a way to schedule her work to give her a little more free time. She had no idea how but she really appreciated it. She missed her friends and took most of the free time to go out with them. She, Alibaba and Morgiana went to lunch and dinner together several times. One afternoon she had entirely off so the three of them, joined by Hakuryuu and Kouha (both Aladdin and Kouha in disguises so they weren’t recognized by anyone) went to an amusement park.  
  
The time she spent with her friends helped bring back her smiles, which relieved Ugo. He had been worried. She wasn’t completely back to normal, but she seemed better. She still wasn’t eating much; in fact he was sure she was eating only when he was around to keep him from being upset. Whatever other free time she had she spent in the gym. She was determined to give people as few reasons to complain as possible. It was starting to work. She had lost the ten pounds Sinbad had been talking about since the Australia tour, more actually.  
  
She was still tired, but she began sleeping better after spending time with her friends. She wasn’t catching up with any schoolwork, but at least she wasn’t getting any further behind.  
  
And so the days went by.


	4. Lyrics and Notes

***Judal***  
Before he moved on to Tahoe Judal noticed a relatively new name landing a spot in the top 10 charts once again with a song from a recently released album. The newbie was, in fact, second only to the hit single he had recorded shortly before he left. He smirked. The newbie was doing well-and didn’t sound half-bad either-but Judal was still a step ahead, even without having done anything active in the business for roughly four months. But still, interesting.  
  
~~~~~  
  
In Tahoe he walked into a house right on the lake. The water was beautiful he had to admit. He had originally planned to avoid this house and rent a cabin, but he couldn’t find one he liked so he came to his parents old summer house, which they had left to him in their will, along with all of their other belongings. His parents had taken him here every summer before they had been killed in a car accident with a drunk driver. Miraculously, he had escaped unscathed. He had no idea how. He had been passed on to a rather abusive uncle. So he worked his ass off and signed with Al Thamen. And spent his teenage years making music. He rolled his eyes. None of that mattered anymore. For now, he needed to get his shit together.  
  
First off, he unpacked the things he had brought with him. His ukulele and guitar were set to lean against a wall in the music room. He looked around. The grand piano stood under a cover in the center of the room. All of the instrument cases were in the same positions he remembered leaving them in the last time he had been here. And it was all covered in a think layer of dust. He shook his head, turning around and pulling out his phone to call a cleaning crew because he sure as hell wasn’t going to clean this place up, and he definitely wasn’t going to live in a huge house that was filled with dust and cobwebs. No, that wasn’t happening, it would drive him insane. He gave up on unpacking until the house was clean. The maids arrived half an hour later and began working quickly; dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, mopping, sanitizing, washing, and polishing the house to perfection. It still took them all day to get the house into running order. He paid them and they left.  
  
He walked through the house, satisfied with their work. They had been very thorough. He would have to keep them on as the regular team to keep the house maintained during his stay. He flopped onto the freshly made bed in the master bedroom, staring at the ceiling and thinking. He was bored. There was no drama here to entertain him. There were no fans throwing themselves at him in hopes that he would take a liking to them. No stupid dancers or crappy musicians or singers to piss him off. It was nice, but it also sucked. There was a reason why he was in this business. It was fun to watch all the drama unfold around him, to instigate it. He sighed.  
  
The calm of the past few months was boring, although probably needed. He had broken himself of his bad habits. It had been hard the first month; seemingly impossible the first week, but he had done it. And every day after he had gotten over the shaking, stomach-churning phase had been easier. The withdrawal from the drug had been a royal pain in the ass; he couldn’t sleep, moving hurt like hell, he had a fever, and he couldn’t stop puking. He forced himself to get up and drink water and walk around as much as his wrecked body could. After the first week, he had felt better.  
  
Now that he was in Tahoe, he started working out more. His muscles and body had completely protested. He ignored them. He downloaded several apps on his phone. Every day he walked into the gym in the house and began a new set of exercises based on what muscle group the app had planned for him to work on that day, in addition to the cardio routine he had designed for himself. It hurt. His muscles were extremely weak from the drugs effects and the alcohol abuse. He ignored it. He wanted to get back in control of his life. He was starting with this. If it hurt, well, life sucked.  
  
He used another app to keep track of what he ate and drank. He documented everything. It wasn’t so much to count calories as it was to make sure he wasn’t eating to much crap. He drank eight glasses of water a day, made sure to eat mostly fruit and vegetables, protein, and minimal carbs. He stayed away from pasta, bread, and rice as much as possible, cutting the portions he ate of them in half and replacing it with healthier choices, peaches mostly. He ate a lot of peaches.  
  
He spent his days differently. He went hiking on several different trails, enjoying the mountain air and view. He spent time at the lake. He pulled out all of the old equipment in the garage. He inspected everything for any sign of damage but it all seemed fine. He went kayaking on the lake. He brought out the little boat and sped along the water. He biked around the lake. He shopped, ate at overpriced restaurants, and got massages. He played his instruments, dedicating several days to each. He wrote lyrics for new songs that were sure to be popular. He played around with different melodies.  
  
He brought himself the rest of the way back from the hellhole he had been getting himself in. Every day he was able to control, every time he made a decision, every time he did what he wanted, he got a little bit more normal. A little bit less frustrated. And he continued to do so for several months. 

  


***Aladdin***  
  
  
Aladdin continued to spend as much time with her friends as possible. The more time she spent with them the more she realized she had been lonely, still was lonely. They were great, and Ugo was great, and when she saw her parents they were great, but none of them took the loneliness away. Her music filled that hole temporarily, but it didn’t last. And every time she slowed down in preparation for the end of a performance she felt the hole grow bigger than before. She felt as though she was missing something, like she had lost something but she didn’t know she had ever had it so she didn’t know how to get it back.  
  
Instead of getting depressed she kept pushing forward. She found ways to keep herself busy so she didn’t focus on the emptiness. She wrote more lyrics, she spent time with her friends when they weren’t at school, she worked on her schoolwork. She worked on melodies to go with her lyrics. Normally, she wrote the lyrics to songs and someone else worked with her to write the music. It wasn’t like she couldn’t write the music too, but Sinbad insisted that she turn out as many songs as possible, and it was faster to have someone who knew the instruments well write the music. She started working on the piano again. She stumbled at first, not having practiced in over a year. It took some time to get her fingers to move over the keys the way she wanted. Although she wasn’t very good at it, she was determined to write every part of the next album, even if it took a little longer than normal. Sinbad could be a little patient. The music never really sounded exactly the may she wanted if someone else wrote it. Sinbad always found a way to convince her that it was close enough, that what she was looking for was perfection, and perfection couldn’t be achieved.  
  
Sinbad started taking her out to do things. They went to lunch, got ice cream,-which she viciously ran on the treadmill later to recover from-watched the premiere of a new movie Sindrian Entertainment had just finished. Aladdin found it a little weird. Sinbad should have been spending time doing work as the CEO of Sindrian Entertainment, not spending time with her. She ignored it, passing it off as him wanting to avoid paperwork or something. Sinbad intended to keep his company’s most popular singer happy.  
  
Aladdin kept an eye out for news about her favorite singer/musician, but nothing new came up. The big news as of late was the Al Thamen had taken over Kou, joining the two under the Al Thamen name. Aladdin wrinkled her nose, the Al Thamen had kept Kouha super busy recently. Normally he was the one she could see most often, because he didn’t go to school either. When wanting to spend time with her friends it was so annoying that she always was free during the time that they were at school, so she spent quite a bit of time with Kouha who had a similar problem-well, not anymore it seemed.  
  
She continued on like this for several months, hiding the loneliness to the best of her ability, convincing those around her that she was okay, just tired.


	5. Piano and Harp

***Judal***  
  
Judal packed up his things. He brought his guitar, his laptop, and a bag full of cloths to Portland with him. He was staying in some fancy, expensive hotel. He wanted to spend a little time in the city before he called Ithnan and returned to Al Thamen. In the course of the ten months, he had rid himself of his drug addiction, stopped drinking, whipped his body back into shape, written and notebook full of music, and turned nineteen. He had also gotten extremely bored. He missed all the drama that came along with being a celebrity.  
  
He had heard about a really nice music store that he wanted to visit. He wanted to see if they could get him a decent harp and have it sent to the house in Tahoe. The harp he had in Italy was crap, and on top of that it was in Italy, not easily accessible.  
  
The music store was big. It had all kinds of instruments advertised, as well as tall bookshelves full of sheet music, books for piano beginners, manuals for instrument care, and on and on. He walked through the store, taking it in. He was impressed, but his mood was dropping. When he had first seen all the instruments he had hoped they would have a harp, but he couldn’t see one. He started thinking about going up to a salesclerk rather than roaming the store, no longer hopeful that he would be able to play until he reached the back corner of the store, where a beautiful harp stood. It was gorgeous.  
  
Judal admired it for a moment before he moved to sit on the stool and his fingers found the strings. He played. The sound coming from the other people in the shop quieted. The other customer who had been playing with a guitar at the front of the store- testing it while a clerk rambled on about why it was a good choice- stopped, the two employees talking about some local band quieted, the woman he heard talking on the phone quickly hung up, one of the employees turned off the music going through the speakers-which had been playing one of his songs. The harp’s sound filled the room. No one moved toward the sound, just waited and listened to the relaxing, angelic sound. Judal transitioned smoothly from one song to the next, a classical peace first, then a song from that popular newbie-not her most popular song but probably his favorite of hers, not that he would admit to liking it-to a piece he had written himself. Then he stood up planning to buy the instrument and send it to be added to the music room in Tahoe, but he was interrupted. A girl-the woman on the phone-looked him in the eye and he stopped. She had run to the back of the store as soon as he had played the last note.  
  
He knew her. The blue eyes and hair were unmistakable when he was facing them straight on. He had seen her from the back and she had been murmuring so quietly into her phone that he hadn’t realized who she was. From the look that flashed through her eyes she recognized him too. Interesting. What would she say? He took in the blue braid that hung down her back, her face clear from the ridiculous makeup she was usually put in for her performances and videos-not that he would admit having watched them on YouTube- and the white summer dress she had on as he waited for her to say something. To his great annoyance she just stared at him for a moment. He arched an eyebrow and was about to comment about how rude staring was when she finally spoke.  
  
When she finished he smirked. She was different from how he had expected. How interesting. 

  


***Aladdin***  
  
It was Aladdin’s day off. She wanted to go get a few piano books. She wanted to get better, and she wouldn’t be able to do that with the beginner books she had-she already had them mastered. She invited Kouha to go with her, but he was in a limo with his two brothers and sister on the way to a filming location. Kouen was a popular model and actor, Koumei seemed to prefer to remain behind the scenes acting as a manager to the family members, Kougyoku was just starting to get into the business so where she would focus had yet to be determined, and Kouha went back and forth between actor, model, and singer. Al Thamen seemed to want to do a movie using all the red-headed Ren family members.  
  
Aladdin sighed into the phone. She would just have to go by herself. Solomon had needed Ugo’s help today and it was a Thursday so it wasn’t like she could invite any of her friends who were still in school. She wished Alibaba’s and Morgiana’s parents had allowed them to sign on to the label with her, she had convinced Sinbad to take them on as a group at the dinner they had had after he first saw her perform.  
  
“It’s fine Aladdin! Don’t get all depressed, I’ll just stay on the phone with you.”  
  
“Thanks Kouha. So what’s the new movie about? And I thought you had decided to focus on modeling for a little while.”  
  
“I do want to focus on modeling, but Al Thamen didn’t really give me much of a choice. They wouldn’t give me any modeling jobs, they refused to allow me to do any until I finished filming for the movie. I don’t really know that much about the movie actually. I only agreed to do it this morning, I haven’t even gotten a copy of the script yet. It’s really annoying.”  
  
Aladdin continued listening to Kouha complain about Al Thamen and its rules. By the time he was done she was at the music store.  
  
“So why a music store?”  
  
“I want to get some piano books. I’m not as good as I want to be.”  
  
“I see. How is the new album coming along? Normally you’d be done by now.”  
  
“Well, you’re right, it’s taking me longer then normal. I wasn’t to write all of the music this time too, not just the lyrics. It’s taking me longer then normal, but I really want to get better. I’m never going to get better if I keep letting someone else write the music for me. That’s part of why I want to get the piano books. I want to practice more piano so that the next time I want to write an album the music part will be easier.”  
  
“I see.”  
  
“You keep saying that.”  
  
“Soooo. New topic. How did the date go?”  
  
“How did you know about that?!”  
  
“I hear things. I have eyes and ears everywhere. He’s a model right? His name sounded familiar.”  
  
“Um, yeah. He’s a model. The new Abercrombie one. Sinbad said it would be good if I went on a date. Something about a girl not having kissed someone by my age being a crime or something.”  
  
“Aladdin do not, and I mean do not, date Abercrombie models. If I had known I would have warned you that-“  
  
“They are complete and total jerks? Yeah, I got that. It took him five minutes to call me fat. He said my name was stupid too.”  
  
“Oh Aladdin I don’t even know where to start. First, understand that Abercrombie models are the attractive people who weren’t chosen for the summer beach movies. They are bitter. Don’t even think a word he said was right. He was after your fame. They did it to me too. Next time I get to plan your date. Okay? How did that date even get set up?”  
  
“Sinbad introduced us at lunch one day. We were at the same restaurant. When Sinbad went to get his car the guy asked me out. Did I mention he insisted that I pay? Not half and half, but the whole damn thing. I really don’t like that guy. If I ever see him again it will be too soon.”  
  
“Aww poor Aladdin. I can set you up with people much better than the old fart. I’m much better in the fine art of flirtation. Do you want-“  
  
“Hold on a second.” A Pause, “Kouha I have to go. I’ll talk to you later. Text me when you get a break.”  
  
Aladdin was mesmerized by the sound. Someone was playing the harp in the back of the store. She listened, frozen in place. The tension she felt seemed to slip away. Whoever it was played one of her songs after the first classical piece, then a piece she didn’t recognize. When the last note sounded with an air of finality she rushed to the back of the store, wanting to speak with the player.  
  
When she got there she froze. Her favorite singer stood before her. His long, black hair in its usual unique braid, his bright red eyes staring right back at hers. She had been searching for news of him since he disappeared ten months earlier, and he was just standing right in front of her. She didn’t know what to say first. He arched an eyebrow, looking as though he was annoyed. She cut him off; she didn’t want to miss her chance to talk to him.  
  
“I really like your playing just now. It was beautiful. I didn’t recognize the last song though. What was it?”  
  
“It’s something I wrote a long time ago.” Of course his playing was beautiful. He became an expert at all the instruments he played. Had she expected any different? What an idiot. Well, at least she gave out compliments that seemed genuine and not forced. That’s more than most other celebrities he had met so far. He was interested in this strange girl. “So what is a pop star such as yourself doing here?”  
  
“It’s my day off. I wanted to get some piano practice books because I’m not as good as I want to be. What are you doing here? You have been gone forever!”  
  
She didn’t miss that he knew who she was. It made her happy for some reason.  
  
“I’m taking a break, this just happened to be on my list of places to visit.”  
  
She didn’t miss a beat. “Do you want to get lunch with me?” It probably wasn’t the best way to ask but she was really excited.  
  
“And why would I do that? I don’t make a habit of spending time with short pop stars.”  
  
She ignored the jabs at her height, she wasn’t that short. “Because I want to talk to you. You write such beautiful music. I’ve wanted to write a song with you for a long time but Sinbad said that it wasn’t a good idea.”  
  
“Oh, he said that did he. Well, in that case I guess I have to have lunch with you. You better not take me to some crappy place either.”  
  
She smiled. It had worked. He would go with her! “Let me just get the music books and then we can go!”  
  
She felt Judal’s eyes on her as she ran back to the aisle she had been in before and picked out several books at random. He walked up behind her and looked at the books she picked out. When she turned around he stole them from her arms and put all of them back, pulling out several others to replace them.  
  
“Those are better.” He said simply before walking up to the front of the store.  
  
She smiled again, this time even brighter.

  



	6. Lunch

Aladdin called a cab and instructed the driver to take them to her favorite lunch place. It was a little café in a quieter area of town. It wasn’t very well known, but it was really good and she liked it because it wasn’t busy and full of people who would recognize her and stare. She used to perform there with Alibaba and Morgiana before she became a professional.  
  
When they arrived Judal looked around, figuring out what kind of place it was. A hole in the wall, apparently. Obviously not some place a bunch of teenagers or young adults would be going to get lunch. Good. Less staring, he approved of her choice so far.  
  
She led him in and chose a table in the corner at the back. In a moment a waitress, in her fifties was Judal’s guess, came to get their drink orders.  
  
“Hi Gloria! It’s been a while. I want iced tea. And the Usual sandwich, you remember right?”  
  
“Of course I remember sweetheart. And you sir?”  
  
“Water and the French Dip.”  
  
“That’s no fun! You like peaches. Could you bring him the peach smoothie please?”  
  
The waitress smiled and walked away. Judal arched a brow at Aladdin.  
  
“I like peaches?”  
  
“Um, yeah. You always post pictures of peach deserts and stuff on your instagram.” As Aladdin talked she got quieter until it was just a mumble. Her cheeks were dusted with pink.  
  
Cute. That’s what came into Judal’s head when he saw her blush. He wanted to see more. In a sultry voice, “Do I? I didn’t know you were so interested in me.” He added a slight tilt of his head.  
  
Her cheeks were bright red, she could feel them burning. “I-I…Yeah. The music you play is really amazing and you have a great voice. And I noticed that you don’t use much auto tuning. It’s nice. I don’t like the way auto tune makes things sound. Natural voices are prettier.”  
  
“So full of compliments. Do you flatter everyone like this, or just me?”  
  
If it was possible her face got even more red. “I-I compliment people who deserve them. Oh look, the food is here.”  
  
She got lucky. He stopped the flirtation for now. For the first few moments they just ate. Judal could feel the curiosity rolling off of the girl. She wanted to ask him a million questions, he could tell. But, unlike many others she had the courtesy to wait, so it seemed.  
  
“So is there something you wanted to ask or say specifically, or did you just plan on looking at me while I eat?”  
  
She had been caught. She cursed at herself, but quickly recovered.  
  
“How many instruments can you play?”  
  
“And here I thought you followed my social media. That information is-“  
  
“But you constantly learn new instruments, and no new information has been posted on any of your social media for almost a year.”  
  
“Wow, I have a celebrity super-fan.” He watched her face begin to redden again. “Ten instruments.”  
  
“What are they?”  
  
“Ukulele, ocarina, cello, french horn, flute, violin, drums, guitar, harp, and piano.”  
  
“Do you own any of them or do you just rent them?”  
  
He smirked, “I own at least one of all of them.”  
  
“That’s amazing. I have a grand piano at home but that’s it. And I’m not very good. You write all the music for your albums right? Not just the lyrics?”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“I want to do that too.”  
  
“Then do it.”  
  
“I can’t.”  
  
“Why. If you want to write the lyrics and the music then write them both.”  
  
“I’m not very good. And Sinbad is already mad that I’m doing that for the album I’m writing now. It’s taking me a really long time, and he told me he didn’t want the next album to take this long. He wasn’t very happy about it.”  
  
“Then ignore the man-whore. Nobody likes him anyway. He doesn’t know what he is talking about. Yeah, he is talented and popular. According to the music charts you are too.”  
  
“I don’t really get much of a choice. If I don’t do it the way he wants then I’ll get cut from the Label, and I want to keep singing.”  
  
Judal noticed the change in her. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who was negatively affected by Sinbad. She pushed her food away, not even half finished, and her smile faded. He recognized that look. He had seen it in himself right before Ithnan had started giving him the damn drugs. Something raged inside of him. Why the hell did Sinbad have to make things suck for everyone?  
  
“When do you plan on coming back from your break?”  
  
“Soon. My original plan was to take a year off to get ahead on some albums and relax a bit. I wasn’t really sleeping or eating well and my health really sucked the few months before I left. Not to mention they kept making me do these stupid performances with talentless wannabes. Especially that last performance; that was a complete and utter disaster.”  
  
“Yeah, I’m sure from a normal person’s view the last performance would have looked fine but to me it looked a bit disorganized.”  
  
He gave her a withering look, but it wasn’t really directed at her, “That has to be the understatement of the year. I didn’t even know I was performing with that asshole until the morning of the performance. My manager knew I would refuse if he told me in advance. That idiot was so high it I was surprised he actually remembered the words to his rap.”  
  
Aladdin saw this going downhill and decided to try to redirect the conversation, “What about that last music video you did. The dancing one! It was really cool an-“  
  
“Do not say anything else positive about those dancers. They were all idiots. They kept telling me how I should play my freaking music. It was always to fast or to slow for them. That entire group of dancers was know-it-alls with no sense of respect.”  
  
Aladdin could relate to that.  
  
“The actor I had in my last music video did that two. He kept complaining that I wasn’t doing it right even though everyone else said it was fine. It was really annoying.”  
  
“Working with people in music videos is a pain in the ass. Most models are okay and some actors are okay, and besides that particular group of dancers I haven’t found to many problems on that side. Just whatever you do don’t let anyone talk you into working with rappers. They don’t appreciate people with actual talent.”  
  
Aladdin wasn’t sure about that because she had never worked with rappers, but she didn’t think arguing with him was a good idea. Kouha texted her. She looked at the message.  
  
_Just arrived in San Francisco. I have no idea what the hell the movie is about still! What took you away from me?_  
  
_I found someone in the music store. We are at lunch._  
  
_Someone? Is it a boy? Is he a musician? Is he cute?_  
  
_He is a musician and a singer………Yes, he is cute. Extremely cute actually._  
  
_Do I know him?_  
  
_Probably._  
  
_What’s his name?_  
  
_I’m not telling you._  
  
_Tell Me! Ali WHAT IS HIS NAME?_  
  
_I’ll tell you later. I’m still with him. Go work or something :P_  
  
While Aladdin had been texting Kouha the waitress had brought the check, Judal had handed her his card, and she had taken it away and returned with it. Aladdin looked up in time to see him returning the card to his wallet.  
  
“You weren’t supposed to pay! I invited you I should have paid! At least let me get the tip.”  
  
“I already got it. Since when does the girl pay? Haven’t you seen movies or read romance novels?”  
  
“I thought that was only for dates. And besides, this is modern times. Guys never pay anymore. They order the most expensive things on the menu and insult you throughout the meal then insist that you pay for everything.”  
  
Judal noted that she sounded a bit bitter. “Aww, poor little newbie had a bad date?”  
  
“Yeah, I didn’t get the ‘never date Abercrombie models’ notice until this morning and its not like Sinbad knew.”  
  
Judal laughed. “Yeah, you can’t date them. I made the same mistake more then once. They are really annoying most of the time.”  
  
Aladdin smiled a little. One of her songs came on and she started singing along without realizing it. Judal watched her for a moment before he moved to get up.  
  
“Ah, where are you going?”  
  
“My hotel.”  
  
“Come play music with me.” Aladdin winced. It had sounded like a demand. And it sounded kind of rude. He wasn’t going to come. That sucked.  
  
He smirked. This girl kept surprising him. She wasn’t all full of herself, she wasn’t prideful, and she kept getting all flustered. It was amusing. Fine. He would go.  
  
“Lead the way, newbie. I don’t have all day.”

  



	7. Private Concert

Aladdin brought Judal to her apartment, leading the way to the small room with the piano. She set the music books she bought in the bookshelf standing against the far wall. Judal sat down at the piano, reading over the music set on the piano’s stand. It wasn’t bad, a little messy, a bit inexperienced, but not too bad. 

Aladdin sat on the piano bench next to him. She was nervous about having him look at her music. It wasn’t finished yet.

“Not bad for a newbie Chibi. Play it.”

“Ah. This one isn’t really finished yet though.”

“I can see that. Stop being all nervous and play the damn song Chibi.”  
She did. It wasn’t perfect. She stumbled through her playing, though it didn’t bug Judal as much as it normally would. When she finished, she looked over at him, waiting.

“You should practice more. Your technique sucks.”

“I know! That’s why I bought those books. If your so great why don’t you play it instead.”

He did. She watched his hands glide across the keys, floating through the notes she had stumbled on. “Sing Chibi. This isn’t some private concert.”

She sang the lyrics she had written for the song so far. He transitioned from the end of that song to another of hers so that she would keep singing. They continued like that for several more songs until he started playing one of his own, testing her. She didn’t falter. His lips twitched into a small smile when she knew the lyrics. 

They continued, turning it into a game. She named a song, he played it, she sang; he played a song, she sang as much of the lyrics as she knew, when she faltered he sang the rest. His voice was even nicer in person. Better then the concert she had gone to with Alibaba and Morgiana a few years earlier. She loved it. She felt happier then she had in months. She was genuinely smiling, she even laughed at some of the comments he made in between songs or during breaks in the lyrics. She wanted this to keep on going forever. 

Of course, that couldn’t happen. The doorbell rang. Aladdin moved to get up, but Judal grabbed her arm to keep her in place, continuing playing with the other hand. When Aladdin made no move to get up again he went back to playing with both hands. The doorbell went off again. And again. 

“Just ignore it. They will go away.”

“But whoever it is seems really persistent. I should go check.”

Judal just kept playing, and Aladdin didn’t move to get up despite what she said. The last ring had been a while ago and she figured whoever it was had left. Until the knocking. Very loud, demanding knocking filled the apartment. 

“Aladdin I can hear the piano. Come open the door.”

Aladdin groaned. She was in no mood to talk to Sinbad again. Judal stopped playing the music. He didn’t look particularly pleased. With a huge sigh she stood up and walked slowly to the door. She unlocked it and greeted Sinbad with as much enthusiasm as she could. He didn’t wait to be invited in, just pushed past her and walked through her home. 

“You didn’t answer your phone. Ja’far and I have been trying to get a hold of you for hours.”

“I’m sorry. I was practicing. I didn’t hear my phone go off. What do you need?”

“I want to hear the album so far. It’s been talking a lot longer then usual to get this one out and I want to hear your progress.”

“Um, could you maybe wait until tomorrow? My voice is really tired and I’m in the middle of writing the last part of one of the songs. I could sing the whole thing tomorrow inst-“

Sinbad had continued to walk through the rooms and into the piano room, finding Judal playing quietly on the piano. Aladdin looked at Sinbad in time to see the extremely unhappy look cross his face before he smoothed over his expression.

“Aladdin, I thought we had finished discussing a collaboration with Judal. The Al Thamen Label and the Sindria Label don’t get along.”

“Well if it isn’t my least favorite person in the world. How kind of you to barge into your most popular singer’s home uninvited.”

Aladdin could see Judal’s mood drop. They knew each other somehow. Well that made sense they were both extremely popular. Aladdin felt the tension in the room. 

“Chibi, I’m leaving. I have shit to do. I’ll show myself out.”

“Judal wait. We can keep practicing after I show Sinbad my album.”

“No, Aladdin, Judal should go. We can’t have someone outside of our label hearing the album before it gets released.”

 

Aladdin sighed, defeated. It had been such a good day up to that point. So much for a fun day off with no work to do. 

Judal left and Aladdin played her album for Sinbad. He grinned at her and complimented the album so far. She didn’t feel happy about it though. In fact the emptiness inside of her seemed to completely consume her. It hurt. 

She wanted the private concert of two to continue, but Judal was gone and she was alone again, Sinbad having left shortly after hearing the album and telling her to ‘keep up the good work.’


	8. Bad Memories

***Judal***  
Life sucked. Just when things started to get better, interesting in a non-annoying way, life just had to come and bite you in the ass. 

He had finally gotten better. No more drugs, relatively normal sleeping pattern, and healthier body. 

And then there was now. For the first time in months he wanted to lose him self in the euphoric state the drugs used to give him. Drown himself in alcohol. He wanted to run away from the memories. And he almost did. Almost. 

Those stupid memories were flooding through his mind. He couldn’t sleep. It had been hours since he got to his hotel room. It was almost midnight. Yeah, life was a bitch. He gave up fighting the memories and just let them consume him, sure that he would have a headache when he was done strolling down memory lane.

 

_Judal sat in front of his hotel room. His stupid manager was supposed to meet him here an hour ago with the key to his room. He strummed his guitar, singing the lyrics to an old favorite of his. He had no idea what time it was, his phone was dead. He was tired. He really wanted to get into his room. Damn his manager for making him wait out in the cold hallway._

_A door across the hall and a little way down opened. There went the third girl he had seen whoever was in that room invite in in the past week. A few minutes later a purple-haired man came out. He walked towards Judal slowly, waiting for Judal to finish the song. When he was done Judal looked up._

_“You’re good.” He waited but Judal didn’t answer, just returned to strumming the guitar. “What are you doing out here?”_

_A pause. “My idiot manager never gave me the key to my room and since he reserved it in his name like an idiot I can’t get another one from the receptionist.”_  


_“It’s cold out here.”_

_“Thank you for that enlightening bit of information captain obvious.”  
“Quite sarcastic I see. My name is Sinbad.”_

_So this is the infamous Sinbad. His label hated the man who stood before him. He smirked, if Ithnan was going to make him wait then he was going to retaliate. “Judal.”_  
  


_“Come with me. You shouldn’t wait outside.”_

_Judal stood and followed the man to his room. Sinbad was quite the flirt, even with him. Sixteen-year-old Judal couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. Men too huh, or is he just a flirtatious person. Somehow I doubt it._

_They continued their little conversation of meaningless flirting and teasing, biting sarcasm and jokes, until Judal heard Ithnan in the hallway._

_“Well, I guess I should be going then. See you around, Mr. CEO.”_

_And Judal did see him around. Sinbad took him out to dinner, played music with him, and befriended him. Sinbad seduced the hell out of him, and though Judal hated to admit it, he had been innocent and gullible in regards to relationships and sex. He had fallen for Sinbad hook, line, and sinker before he even realized. And he had paid for it dearly in following years._

_~~~Time passes in their relationship~~~_

_“You should come be part of my label. Sindria is nicer to its artists.”_

_“I don’t know. My contract with Al Thamen states I have to stay with them at least three years. It’s only been two. I would have to pay a huge fee.”_

_“I’ll pay for it. Who cares. I want you.”_

_Sinbad said those pretty words again, I want you. He had always wanted to hear those words, and Sinbad gave them to him. He felt the others lips on his neck. What if he just let Sinbad have what he wanted? He could do that couldn’t he? Then he would be part of the Sindria Label and he would get more rights to his music and more choices. And Sinbad would be happy. Those thoughts lead to a lot of regrets. But, at the time, they had felt right._

_So Sinbad got his way. He took Judal’s innocence away. Several times actually. Judal thought Sinbad loved him. He thought that was what all the physical touches indicated. It sucked when He turned out to be wrong._

_~~~A few weeks after the deal~~~_

_Life was a bitch. That was Judal’s first thought when he felt something off. Sinbad had been warming his bed for the past few weeks. Little warning signs were going off in his hear. He stood up slowly, pulling the hotel robe on slowly, he was still extremely sore from the previous nights activity. He entered the living area of the hotel and found a note on the little table. He had been used. He had been played, then tossed aside._

_-Judal, It’s been fun. I’m going back home now. When that contract of yours with Al Thamen is up, come talk to me. You have a voice that would work well with several of my other singers. You could be a great back-up. Later—Sinbad_

_That-that-that disgusting, shitheaded man-whore had used him. He had been fucking played. Son of a bitch! Who did this asshat think he was?_

_Judal broke down. He actually cried. He sobbed for days. He raided the mini-bar in the hotel room, and when that wasn’t enough he paid someone to get him more alcohol-screw underage drinking laws. Screw everything. He was broken. He didn’t want to move. He was miserable. Sinbad had broken their deal. Judal was more then pissed._

_He healed in his own way. He went on a dating streak like mad, models, actors, singers, artists, celebrities, non-celebrities, anyone who looked good for the cameras. He improved his image, while behind the scenes he drank alcohol, and eventually did drugs. He coped in a bad way, but it was coping. He healed. Slowly._

And now he was better. It had been roughly three years since then. Judal had healed and moved on, then healed from his chosen healing method. But today, seeing Sinbad had been like a slap in the face. It really sucked. He ignored the emotions that wanted to escape. He wouldn’t return to the emptiness and the feeling of betrayal. Fuck that. He was better then that. He had vowed to become more popular then Sinbad, vowed to ruin the man. He still planned to. The man was going to pay dearly for the misery he had caused.

With scrambled thoughts of the woman he had crushed on before Sinbad, Sinbad himself, and Aladdin he slipped into a dreamless sleep.


	9. Advice

***Aladdin***  
She wasn’t happy. Actually, she was really disappointed. Sinbad had ruined her day with Judal. That really sucked. After Sinbad had left she went to the gym and worked out until she felt like she would collapse. She had been dizzy as hell, and had practically crawled to her rooms. What a horrible ending to a great day. 

She finished writing her album the next day. She sent everything in to Ugo, who would send it to Sinbad or whoever it was he normally gave things to. 

The third day after meeting Judal she had to go in to meet Sinbad, the choreographer, Ugo, and the musicians who would be accompanying her this time around. She wasn’t really in the mood for any of this. The day dragged by so slowly. Sinbad had made “corrections” to her music to “make it flow better.” To her it just sounded off. It had sounded perfect to her before, when she had taken the advice Judal had given her. She didn’t like that Sinbad had changed it, but didn’t care enough any more to tell him. She was slipping back into the emptiness again. It was different though. She couldn’t figure out why.

After a lunch she didn’t eat and several more hours of working on what seemed like nothing to her, since they kept disregarding what she was saying, she said she didn’t feel well. She told Ugo that he could stay and finish up. Sharrkan could take her home instead. He wouldn’t mind. 

When she finally arrived home she called Kouha. She had promised to tell him about the boy she had met and she never had. So why not now? She would talk to him about it first, since he knew there was a boy. She hadn’t told anyone else. She normally would talk to Alibaba but he had been really busy recently and she didn’t want to bother him. 

Kouha didn’t pick up. Figures, he was probably still filming. She slipped into the shower. On a normal day, the hot water would help, but right now it didn’t. She sighed and got out, wrapping her hair and body in towels before moving into the kitchen. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday, now that she thought about it. She didn’t really feel like eating anything now though, so she grabbed a granola bar, knowing that if she didn’t eat anything at all she would be all dizzy and shaky the next day. 

She curled up on the couch, watching Criminal Minds while she finger combed her hair. She wanted to not be alone, but there wasn’t anyone she could call right now. Alibaba, Morgiana, and Hakuryuu were all super busy with school. Kouha was out filming his movie. Her mother was in the hospital again and her father was probably working late again. Judal;s image came to her mind, but she pushed it away. She didn’t have his phone number or email or anything. She snapped out of her little reverie when her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Aladdin! It’s Kouha. I’m sorry I missed your call earlier; I was in the middle of shooting a scene. This idiot actress they have playing my love interest kept saying her lines incorrectly. The director was really annoyed, so he kept making us redo the damn thing. We must have run that scene fifty times before he was happy with it. What did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, I just thought I would talk to you about the other day. I never did tell you about it.”

“THE BOY!!! Oh yes. Spill it. You found him all on your own didn’t you?”

“Yes. What does th-“

“Aww, my little protégé charmed a boy into going out to lunch. I’m so proud. How was it?”

“It was really fun. He has a kind of cynical personality and he cusses a lot, but he was nice and it was really fun. He made me laugh a lot.”

“Hmmm. Interesting. You found him in the music shop?”

“Yeah, he was playing the harp. It was so amazing. And he plays piano beautifully too. He came over after lunch and helped me with some of the piano stuff I’ve been having trouble with. And-”

“Wait, did you say ‘came over’ as in to your apartment? My little Aladdin is growing up. He didn’t make you do anything you didn’t want to though, right? If he did I have a new knife I have been dying to try out. It would cut through him like butter, stain everything with re-”

“Kouha! Calm down the sadistic talk a bit, okay? He didn’t do anything. We just sang together all afternoon in the piano room. He played and we made a little game out of who knew the lyrics and stuff. It was really fun.”

“Well, as long as you liked him. Did you get his number? When is the next date?”

“I didn’t have the chance to get his number. He would have been a really cool person to practice with, but Sinbad came over and wanted to hear the album so far and he got this really unhappy look on his face before he left.”

“Sinbad scared your date off? How rude! You should yell at him. And he shouldn’t be coming to your home. That’s inappropriate.”

“Kouha, not this rant again. It’s fine. I just wish I had gotten the chance to get his number first. Anyway, how is filming going?”

“It was mostly fine until today. One of their idiot actors insulted Kougyoku and she was crying. I was so about to hurt him, but En got to him first. When they came back from their little walk the other guy looked scared shitless. It was hilarious. Agr. I have to go Aladdin, the director wants Koumei to do his scene with me now. He’s gonna try to wake Koumei up and I really don’t think that’s a good idea. He’s already unhappy about having to be on camera. Oh shit, this isn’t good, I gotta go. Bye Ali-darling!”

She fell asleep watching T.V. on the couch. 

The next morning she woke up to the smell of bacon. She opened her eyes slowly. She could see Ugo moving around in the kitchen. She called out a good morning before slipping into her room and getting dressed, brushing her hair, and applying the minimal amount of makeup she used every day. She reemerged from her room as Ugo set her food on the kitchen table. She sat down and started eating slowly, thinking about how to ask him her question. Ugo just sat there waiting, as if he knew she wanted to say something.

“Ugo?”

“Yes Aladdin?”

She wanted to ask him about so many things, but at the same time it felt like the questions she had were something she should talk to Solomon or Sheba about. She just wasn’t sure what to do. 

“Um. I ahh,” she trailed off, unsure.

“Aladdin,” He smiled waiting for her to respond. 

“Solomon asked me to set up a dinner for the two of you. You haven’t seen each other in a while and he is a little worried. You seem to have something on your mind recently, but you haven’t talked to anyone about it.”

Leave it to Ugo to know everything, or most things at least. Aladdin should have expected as much. 

“I-I don’t know who to talk to. There is a lot I want to talk about, but I don’t feel close enough to dad anymore to talk to him, and mom is in the hospital and always sleeping, and you have to work and I don’t think my friends can help me because I don’t even know what is wrong.”

“Aladdin, you can always talk to me if you want to, but sometimes there are things that you have to talk to a parent about. Even if you don’t have the best or closest relationship, parents are there to help you no matter what. I think whatever it is you should talk to Solomon about. He misses you asking him for advice, even if he tries not to show it. Why don’t you two have dinner at the French restaurant downtown that you both like? I can make a reservation for a private room.”

“I-ah okay. Please do that.”

The conversation continued on about the new album and the planning of another tour, this time in Europe. Ugo had called her in sick that day apparently. It worked for her, she didn’t feel like dealing with another day like yesterday. 

~~~At dinner with Solomon~~~

Aladdin was the first to arrive. She was early, but the room was ready so she sat at the table, sipping the water the waiter brought her. She thought about things that had happened recently. About the emptiness in her chest, the way it had been completely forgotten when she had spent time with Judal. How her chest had felt hot. How her face had burned. How he had made her laugh for the first time in what felt like forever, a genuine laugh not the false laughs she gave to hide her pain. 

When Solomon got there the usual pleasantries were exchanged. The waiter took their order. 

“Aladdin, you look thinner. Have you been eating?”

“Probably not as much as I should, but I’m never really hungry. And I have been working out a lot.” Aladdin decided against trying to fool Solomon. She really needed to talk to someone and if Ugo said her dad would be a good choice, then she would trust his judgment. 

“I see. Well, at least make sure what you do eat isn’t a bunch of junk food. If you aren’t eating very much you should at least get as much out of what you do eat as possible. I don’t want you to get sick.”

“Don’t worry, Ugo has been making sure I stay healthy!”

“I’m sure he has.” Solomon offered her a fatherly smile as the waiter brought their food. They took a few minutes to eat before Solomon interrupted the silence. “So, what’s on your mind?”

“I don’t know where to start.”

“The beginning is usually a good place.” She smiled at the very Sheba-like look she gave him and continued, “How about the eating? You used to love food. Why aren’t you eating?”

She looked at the food she had been pushing around her plate. “The magazines. And the other celebrities. And the producers. They all said I needed to lose weight or that I was too heavy for a celebrity. Even Sinbad said I needed to lose a few pounds. I don’t want any of them to look down on me, or use my weight against me as a reason why I’m not as popular as so-and-so or why I can’t have a certain part in the movie because I don’t have the perfect body.”

Solomon looked at her for a while before replying, “Since when does what other people think bother you?”

“Since it mattered! Since whether or not people liked the way I look meant I could or couldn’t do something. Producers and Directors are so picky!”

“Aladdin calm down. You are who you are, and if people don’t like that then they don’t deserve to have you as part of their project, whatever it may be.”

“I guess. I want to act too, but Sinbad and the others keep saying there isn’t a movie with a part I could play. I know I could have played a part in the last Sindrian movie! It’s so frustrating.”

“Why don’t you go to an audition rather then wait for them to request you? Would that work?”

“I tried that once but Sinbad wouldn’t let me. He said in his company big celebrities are always requested.” 

“And you can’t do those plays at the theater like you used to. In that case you will just have to be patient. They will want you soon enough. Is that all that’s bugging you? The sixth sense I gained when I became a father says otherwise.”

She smiled a bit at that. “I haven’t felt happy for a while. I feel alone. Even when I’m with other people. It’s like there is a hole in my chest, and it keeps getting bigger and bigger. It keeps getting worse and I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m missing something, but I don’t know what is missing. At first, I thought it was my friends, but I have been spending more time with them recently and it hasn’t helped. I don’t think it’s because I miss acting, even though I do. I feel lost. And then I met this person the other day and we spent time together, we ate lunch together and sang together for hours and I forgot all about the emptiness. Actually, I got this really warm feeling in my chest. And then Sinbad came over to listen to my progress on my new album and the other person left and I felt like the emptiness came back, except now it is worse, and I don’t even know why I was able to forget about it to begin with because singing normally only makes it a little bit better.”

Solomon smiled. “Is this other person someone you like? Do you admire him?”  
“Yeah, he is actually my favorite singer. He went off the grid for a while but then I heard him play the harp in the music store we used to go to together and I got him to go to lunch with me and then I convinced him to come practice music with me. It was really fun. Wait, how did you know it was a boy?”

“Father’s intuition. Do you like him?”

“Yeah I think he is really nice. And he has this really nice singing voice, it kinda draws you in and-”

“Aladdin, I meant do you like him, like him. As in a crush.”

Her cheeks got really red. “I didn’t think about it that way. Is that why my chest got all warm and my cheeks were burning?”

Oh boy, his daughter was pretty damn dense. How did she not realize she was attracted to this new boy. It was adorable, his little Aladdin falling in love for the first time.   
“Probably. Those are common reactions when you are attracted to someone.”

“Really? Ahh-oh um, that’s really weird, my first celebrity crush huh? But he is so far out of my league! This is horrible.”

“Aladdin, last time I checked you were a celebrity too.”

“Yeah but he is so much more impressive then me! He can play a bunch of instruments really well and he sings beautifully, and he is a model, and an actor too! I am too much of an amateur at this to come close to comparing. Besides, I didn’t have the chance to get any of his contact information.” She let out a hopeless little sound. Solomon just chuckled. She was being adorable. 

“Aladdin, what’s his name? I’ll find him for you.”

Her entire face seemed to brighten at that. “Really? His name is Judal. He is part of the Al Thamen label but he has been taking a break recently.”

Shortly after they bid each other good night and went their separate ways. Aladdin felt better now, Ugo had been right; she needed to talk to her father more often. Solomon knew most fathers would have freaked out at the idea of a daughter at home alone with a boy, but he trusted Aladdin not to fall to any kind of pressure and to make smart decisions. If she wanted to do some things with a boy, he wasn’t going to stop her. In his opinion she needed to make those decisions on her own, they weren’t his to make.


	10. Modeling?

Alibaba texted Aladdin Saturday morning asking her to meet him for dinner at a new buffet on the far side of town. She texted him back, saying she would be there as soon as she finished learning the choreography for another music video for a song on her new album. He told her to let him know when she was done for the day and he would meet her there. 

After several hours of choreography and blocking she was tired, but she was looking forward to seeing Alibaba. She texted him as soon as she had the chance, then asked Sharrkan to take her to the restaurant. 

When they meet at the restaurant, Alibaba begins the usual information sharing. He tells Aladdin about all the drama going on at school. It seemed like Morgiana and Hakuryuu were getting along very well, the popular kids were still causing drama, the schools favorite math teacher and the head of the history department were dating but trying to hide it from the students. She was happy to hear that Alibaba had aced his big language presentation and the report on ancient civilizations. They talked like that for almost three hours, not leaving until the restaurant was closing. Alibaba drove her home and left, promising to see her again soon. 

She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. She hadn’t bothered changing clothes or taking off her makeup. 

The next morning while she was getting ready she got a message from Jafar. He said Sinbad wanted her to come talk to him at the office before going to the studio to record the first part of the music video. 

When she went in to see Sinbad he was grinning. 

“I have a modeling job that I think will work for you.”

“Really?” Aladdin was surprised, she had pretty much given up on doing anything but singing. 

“Yes. This particular fashion line is geared to sell to people a little older then you, but I think it will be okay, and since you’ve lost weight recently these designs should look good on you.” He passed her a folder filled with images of the clothing designs. They were skimpy. Aladdin frowned. There was very little left to the imagination in these clothes, they were barely a step up from sexy underwear. He had to be kidding. She was sixteen for crying out loud. 

“Don’t you think this is a bit too risqué? I’m not sure I’m comfortable showing this much skin.”

“Don’t worry about it. This will be perfect. Why else did you work so hard to lose the weight? You should flaunt what you have now.”

She didn’t like this. She wasn’t comfortable. “I don’t know Sinbad.”

“Why are you hesitating? I thought you wanted to expand your work base.”

“I do, I just don’t think I’m comfortable doing it by showing myself in cloths like these.”

“Aladdin, this isn’t good. If you aren’t willing to try things then you won’t make it very far.”

“At least let me talk to Ugo about it and think it over. I really don’t think I want to do this.”

She left after that, not willing to listen to anymore of his persuasion. She didn’t care if it was rude. He kept asking more and more of her. She had done a ridiculous amount of work since submitting her new album. It had been almost three weeks since then. She was doing “previews” which would be leaked to get people excited and anticipating the release. And she had to record one of the songs several different times, first with only the piano, then with only the guitar, then only lyrics, then with the normal set of instruments. She was doing music videos for all of the new songs. It was all taking so much time. Sinbad was keeping her really busy. 

She spent the day working, keeping herself going with the promise that tomorrow she was free to do whatever she wanted, probably study.


	11. Coffee Shop

Aladdin’s day off finally arrived. She was still behind on schoolwork, so she took the chance to do some makeup work. She got up early and showered. She dressed in black harem pants and matching crop-top. She pulled on a royal blue hoodie to fight off the chill of the rainy morning. She braided her hair back and tucked it into the sweatshirt, carefully applying the usual makeup, adding a gloss to her lips instead of a moisturizer. She grabbed a large cross body bag and filled it with her notebooks and laptop. Most of her school stuff was online, but working through some things on paper helped her process new material quicker. 

She locked up behind her, double-checking that she had cash in her wallet. She exited the building, choosing to walk the several blocks to the coffee shop rather then call a cab. She pulled up the hood of her jacket, not wanting to be recognized and not wanting to get wet from the sprinkle that had started. 

She ordered a caramel latte, giving the name Ali, and sat down at a table in the back corner. She opened her laptop and started looking through the assignments she had to do. She was technically homeschooled –enrolled in a special program Solomon had designed for her when she had signed to the label. When she was younger she had skipped a few grades so even though she was sixteen she was at a high-school senior level of academics. Solomon’s program was designed to maximize learning in a minimum amount of time, taking into consideration the way Aladdin learned best and the like. He spent several weeks with some of his best workers to design the program for her. She really appreciated it. 

She started working on the French exercises. She would need to study the vocabulary now and test herself on it later. She was almost fluent in the language, her biggest problem was she never seemed to know enough vocabulary to say what she wanted to, but her grammar was excellent. She had just finished the first set of exercises when the barista called her name and she retrieved her coffee, resuming her work. She moved onto math quickly. It was her least favorite subject. It took her a really long time to get the numbers to make sense. She just didn’t get it. 

She scribbled madly in her notebook, trying to understand how to get the answer. Nothing she tried was working. She was so focused on trying to understand the new math lesson that she didn’t notice the pair of arms that circled around her until they were holding her against someone’s chest, one of the hands taking a pen from the table and moving across the notebook, clearly writing out the steps of the problem until coming to the answer and laying the pen down.

“It seems as though you struggle with numbers, Chibi.”

“Judal! What are you doing here?”

“Getting coffee. Why else would I be here? You should eat something. Do you like croissants? I bought two. You have to eat one.”

She was surprised. He was here, he helped her with her work, and he offered her food. What the heck was going on?

“Um, okay. If you insist. I didn’t know you were good at math.”

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me. Aren’t you a little young to be doing calculus?”

“I skipped some grades when I was younger. Technically I am a senior. Why did you do that here?” She was pointing to one of the steps he had written out. He explained it to her. She asked more questions, he kept explaining. “I actually get it. That’s amazing! It normally takes me hours to understand new concepts. Thanks!”

“Sure Chibi. Happy to be of service. What’s next on the agenda?”

“What do you mean?”

“It looks like you’re settled in to stay for a while, I assume you are working on educational things today. So, what subject are you working on next?”

“Um, history. Right now I’m focusing on ancient cultures, and I just finished China so I can move on to Japan now. Or testing French vocab.”

“French. Let’s get that out of the way first.”

“Let’s? Are you staying?”

“Unless you have someone else to help you through your lessons, Sinbad maybe?”

“No way, Sinbad just confuses me. He doesn’t make any sense. And Jafar is way to technical. You are the best so far.”

He smirked, taking the list of French words she wanted to be tested on. She expected him to read her the English translation, but instead he described the objects in French. His accent was gorgeous. She answered him every time, stumbling over a few of the terms. After finishing the vocab test she reached for the list, but he kept it in hand starting to talk to her in French. Basic conversation, comments about the weather. He liked to hear her speak French, it was pretty. 

“Onwards to history then, Chibi?”

And the two sat in the coffee shop for several hours. Judal and Aladdin taking turns to get more coffee. Aladdin caught up on all the lessons she had fallen behind in. She was amazed. Judal had helped her every time she had been confused, which sped up her work pace exponentially. She was so happy. 

“What’s next Chibi?”

“That’s it. I’m all caught up now. Actually, I’m kinda ahead now. Thanks Jugemu!”

Aladdin blushed; the nickname had just slipped out without her thinking. Judal smiled, so the girl was comfortable enough to nickname him, huh? Well, he had been called worse. Aladdin looked at the clock on her laptop. She had been at the café for eight hours. She stood up and stretched, not having moved much in the past few hours. A yawn escaped her.

“Should I drive you home?”

Had he just offered what she thought he just offered? “You don’t have to, I can walk.”

“Chibi, it’s pouring outside. You will get soaking wet.”

“A little water never hurt anyone.”

“A little water never hurt anyone, sure, but that is a lot of water. Get your shit together and let’s go.”

She just listened to him, to tired to argue. She put her things back into her bag and joined Judal, who had ordered yet another round of drinks for the two of them. He handed her a set of keys.

“The black mustang right outside. Don’t ding it, it’s a rental.”

She hurried outside and climbed into the passenger seat of the car. She pulled off her now-wet hoodie and leaned back, relaxing in the seat. She let her eyes close as she listened to the pattering of the rain outside. Judal had waited inside for the drinks. When he climbed into the car, he found Aladdin sleeping. He put the drinks in the cup holder and pulled the keys from her hand gently, turning on the car and putting the heater on high. The crop top she was wearing left a few inches of skin visible. Judal averted his eyes, not wanting to be drawn in to the girl’s brightness. He didn’t want to wake her up but he couldn’t remember how to get to her apartment building. He settled to take her to his hotel instead. 

He left the car with the valet, slinging the girl’s bag over his shoulder, her sweatshirt over his arm, and the drinks very carefully into the bag, wedged against the books. He picked her up bridal style and carried her through the lobby, up the elevator and to his room. Shit, he couldn’t hold her and open the door. He saw a maid coming out of a room down the hall and called over to her. It was the same maid who had cleaned his room the day before. He had left her a huge tip. She smiled at him when she recognized who he was and opened the door for him. He placed Aladdin on his bed and pulled the blankets around her. Watching her sleep for a while before he walked into the kitchen, taking her drink and putting it in the fridge. He drank his. He had wanted to talk her into playing piano and singing with him again. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her since the day they had met. He pulled out her phone; entering the password he had seen her use earlier. He entered himself into her contacts. He wanted to see if she would call. She kept surprising him. She knew French, she liked science and mythology, and she wasn’t shallow or uneducated like so many other celebrities he had dealt with. She was actually trying to continue school; most celebrities gave up on education once they became popular. 

He felt himself yawn too. Screw normal courtesy, it was her fault for falling asleep in the first place. He slipped under the covers and wrapped his arms around the girl. She was warm. He fell asleep soon after. 

Aladdin woke up in an unfamiliar place. She could tell it wasn’t her bed, but it was comfortable. She was really warm. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around. A hotel room? She turned her head to the side and saw Judal’s sleeping face. He looked so vulnerable in his sleep. She felt his arms around her, and she blushed a deep red. She was in her supposed crush’s room, sleep next to him, and he was holding her. Her heart started beating really loud. She wasn’t sure what she should do, so she just wrapped her arms around him and snuggled against him, pressing his face into his chest. She felt his hands running through her hair. Judal must have taken out her braid. 

“You are awfully cuddly aren’t you, Chibi?”

She was so embarrassed. Her cheeks were burning. She didn’t move or say anything. 

“I know you are awake Chibi.”

“What do you want me to say? This is a really awkward moment for me. I’ve never been in a situation like this before.”

Judal laughed. “Chibi, you are so innocent. It’s adorable.”

She smiled a little. Adorable. She was happy. He just kept playing with her hair. 

“What are you doing tomorrow Chibi?”

“I have to record part of a music video. And I’m meeting a friend who just finished shooting a movie for breakfast.”

“Hmmm. You should call me when you are done. I’ll take you to dinner.”

Did he just ask her out? Did that really happen or was she making this a bigger deal then necessary? She really hoped this was a date. 

“If it isn’t too late, then sure. What time is it? I should get home.”

“It’s seven forty. Give me a minute to wake up then I will drive you home. I couldn’t remember how to get there earlier so I brought you here.”

That made sense. He rolled over and got out of bed. She stood up after a minute and walked out of the bedroom area into the living area. She put her shoes back on and stuffed her sweatshirt into her bag. She was ready to go when Judal came back out with a coffee cup that he handed to her. It was hot chocolate. She drank the sweet drink in the car, listening to him sing along with the instrumental music that was playing in the car. It was nice. When they got to her apartment he walked he to her door and said goodnight before leaving. 

She really liked him. She would admit it. Her heart beat faster then normal around him, and she got this warm feeling inside. Yeah, she really liked him.


	12. Lesson in Flirting

She was late. Aladdin had been held up this morning because Sinbad had called to tell her that there was another possible model for the shoot he had proposed to her shortly before. She still wasn’t really comfortable with the clothes that were going to be shown, but she was going to talk to Ugo about it later. For now, she needed to talk to Kouha. Alibaba had gotten extremely busy once again, Morgiana was training for an upcoming martial arts competition, and Hakuryuu was on a random vacation with his family outside of the country. She hadn’t been able to talk to any of them, though she wasn’t sure they would have been able to help her anyway. 

She needed boy advice. Kouha was the expert in flirtation; he was even smoother than Sinbad. It was an impressive skill in its own right. 

She arrived almost forty minutes late to the set meeting time. Kouha was going to kill her, if he was still here. 

She sighed in relief when she saw him in their usual booth. He had his hair extensions in, he was wearing a rather chic outfit. He was rocking the girl disguise today. Aladdin had just pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up. She hadn’t even bothered to put makeup on. 

“Ali, you are late!”

“I know, I’m sorry. Sinbad called me and wouldn’t let me get off the phone.”

“I forgive you. So what’s up?”

“I um. Well, it’s about that boy.”

“Oh him, you never did tell me his name.”

“Judal.”

“The singer? I heard he is a real asshole.”

“He isn’t though. Not that I’ve seen so far. Anyway I need your advice.”

“My advice?”

“I want you to teach me about flirting.”

“My poor, adorable, dense Aladdin. Of course I will help you.”

The waitress came and took their orders.

“So, where should I start?”

“Um, how do I know if he likes me? Actually, he asked me to go to dinner with him last night, but I don’t know if he meant it as a date or just as friends.”

“What did he say?”

She told him.

“It sounds like he is testing you. Trying to see what you want. He is assessing whether you want to be more than friends and if you are material to be more than friends with.”

“What should I do?”

“Aladdin, you should be yourself. You don’t want to pretend to be someone you aren’t just to get him to like you. If you do that you won’t ever really be happy. Just talk to him like you would to me or any other one of your friends.”

“You know, Kouha, that sounds very cliché.”

“It is, but you being you, it’s the best advice. You have a smile that brightens the room and your laugh draws people in. And I don’t think that a novice like you could really work the seduction angle at this point.”

“I thought you were supposed to be good at this?”

“I am good at this. You have natural charm some people would kill for. Use it. Smile and laugh. You could throw the occasional slight tilt of the head when asking him a question about himself.”

“He did that to me once.”

“Did you blush?”

“Maybe.”

“He is a master. Use the same move in a similar situation and it will pull him in. But really Ali, you don’t need to do anything extra. You should relax around him. If you already got along well without trying then you should keep doing what you are doing.”

This conversation went back and forth for about an hour, continuing as they ate. When it finally came time for Aladdin to go to the filming location, she kissed Kouha on the cheek, thanking him again before hurrying off. Kouha texted her that if Judal was really nice she should kiss him on the cheek at the end of the date just like she had just done to him. 

During her first break from filming she talked to Ugo about the modeling job. He told her she shouldn’t do anything that made her uncomfortable. 

She didn’t want Sinbad to be any more upset with her though. After a moment of thought she grinned. She sent out a text then returned to filming.


	13. Big Sister's Favor

Sinbad kept asking her about the modeling job. Every break he talked to her about it. She wanted him to leave her alone. He had this way of talking people into things, and she didn’t want to fall to his persuasion and end up regretting things later. 

At the end of the day while Aladdin was getting ready to go to dinner with Judal Sinbad got a phone call. He wasn’t happy with whoever was on the other side of the call. He was arguing loudly. When he got off he went over to Aladdin and Ugo.

“Bad news, the clothing line I wanted you to model for got a different actress.”

“Oh, that’s too bad, I guess we will just have to find you another modeling job Aladdin.” Ugo was just a bit sarcastic. He didn’t like the job Sinbad had chosen for Aladdin. 

“I thought you said they requested me specifically Sinbad, what happened?” Aladdin put her acting skills to use, adding disappointment and confusion to her voice. She knew exactly what had happened. 

“Some big-shot model said she wanted to do the shoot. Since she is older they preferred her to you. I’m sorry Aladdin.”

“It’s okay! We can just try for another one. If I let this get to me it wouldn’t be good, so you don’t feel bad either!” Ugo was impressed with how well Aladdin was selling the innocent act. He had the feeling she had orchestrated this little road block. 

“Aladdin, we need to get going. Solomon made the reservations for twenty minutes from now and it will take us that long to get there.”

“Where are you guys going?”

“Oh, dad, Ugo, and I are going to have dinner together at a new restaurant! Dad wants to ask me some questions about the homeschool program so that he can add to it and make it better, and since I finished all the lessons they designed, he wants to know what else I want to learn.” She looked at her phone. “Ugo, we only have ten minutes to get there not twenty. Come on we have to hurry! Bye Sinbad.”

Aladdin grabbed her bag and Ugo’s hand and ran off to his car. She waited until they were on the road and out of sight before she sent Judal a text. He replied with a time and place for her to meet him. She had never heard of it before. He gave her an hour. Ugo took her home first, letting her change her hair, taking it out of the braid she had and brushing it out and leaving it down. She grabbed purse, changed into a cocktail dress and heels (Ugo had informed her that it was a rather fancy Italian place about fifteen minutes away from home,) and applied a little bit more makeup then she had put on at the studio. She hadn’t expected him to choose a fancy restaurant, thinking he would choose a casual place instead. It wasn’t like she was complaining. She liked dressing up. She made a call as she followed Ugo back to his car. 

“Aladdin? How are you?”

“I’m great! Thank you so much for the favor. I really wasn’t comfortable doing that job.”

“Anything for you. I’m happy to help, what else are big sister’s for? What was that man thinking having you do something like this though? I didn’t start doing this kind of stuff until I turned twenty.”

“I don’t know, but it made me nervous.”

The conversation continued until Ugo pulled up in front of the restaurant to drop Aladdin off.

“Oh, I have to go now! I just got to the restaurant. I’ll talk to you later. Bye Hakuei!”


	14. First Dinner Together

Judal watched Aladdin get out of the car, talking to the driver a second before she turned around. She was wearing a dark purple dress. It was cut to showoff her curves well, fitted on top and cinched at the waist, flowing from her waist down, stopping at her mid-thigh. Her hair was down; he liked it. The heels she wore brought her up closer to his height and the gloss on her lips drew attention to them. She had dressed up for the occasion, how cute. 

She didn’t see him as she walked to the door, about to go inside when he slipped up beside her. He opened the door for her silently and she slipped inside. He had made a reservation for them, choosing a table in the back corner where they were less likely to be spotted. 

“You got all dressed up for me, Chibi, I’m flattered.”

“I got dressed up because this is a formal restaurant. You are dressed up too.” She took a moment to absorb the black pants and white button up he was wearing, complete with a tie. 

“I am indeed. Good to know you noticed. How was your day?”

“Good. Sinbad is mad though. Someone else was chosen for a modeling job he wanted me to do. I’m glad though; the clothes were too skimpy for my taste. I wouldn’t have felt comfortable modeling them.”

“Don’t let the man-whore pressure you to do anything you don’t want to. And don’t listen to his pretty words. They don’t mean anything. He is all talk.”

Aladdin laughed. “You seem to have a strong opinion about him. Do you not like each other?”

“Not at all. He is a back-stabbing liar who likes to sleep around and screw with people’s minds.”

“If you don’t like him then let’s talk about something else. What did you do today?”

“Not much. I went back to that music store and bought the harp. I think I’m going to have it sent to my house in Northern California.”

“You bought the harp? That’s good; it was really beautiful when you played it. Will you play it for me again?”

“Maybe. We’ll see what happens Chibi. I don’t normally do private concerts, but I might make an exception if it is you.”

She blushed, smiling a bit. “I, um, I was going to invite a friend of mine to have breakfast tomorrow morning at a café, Do you want to come? Actually, now that I think about it, the place is only a block away from your hotel.”

“Oh, a second date already? You sure move fast.”

“I didn’t mean-”

“Fine. I’ll be there. The one with the waffle on the sign right?”

“Yeah! They have the best hot chocolate ever. And the omelets are to die for.”

“I see. And who is this friend of yours?”

“His name is Kouha. He actually works as an artist at Al Thamen, he used to be with Kou but since the two merged-”

“Kouha Ren?”

“Yeah. We go to breakfast together pretty often because we both normally have mornings off. Do you know him?”

“We worked together for a charity concert once. He was quite the flirt.”

“He still is. He’s the first one to tell me not to date Abercrombie models. He didn’t approve of Sinbad’s choice at all.”

“Yeah, no, don’t listen to Sinbad for possible dates.”

“I don’t plan on doing it again, believe me.”

“So tell me, Chibi, how did you get into this business of ours?”

“Oh, well I used to do all kinds of things. I liked drawing and painting, I’m really good at lifelike things. I used to play music at some places nearby with my friends, Morgiana and Alibaba. It was really fun. And I acted in a few plays with a local theater group. It was a fluke, but Sinbad saw a musical I was in and insisted that I go to dinner with him, so I did. Ugo and I went and talked to him. Originally, my contract was as a group with Alibaba and Morgiana, as well as me being and multi-talent, but Alibaba and Morgiana’s families didn’t want them to get distracted from school so they didn’t become part of the Label. And I haven’t really done anything but sing yet, but I’ll do it someday.”

“So you used to be part of a band?”

“We weren’t really a band, we just all liked music so we played together. Oh, I guess that sounds like a band huh? Well Alibaba and I have been friends for a really long time. His dad and my dad work together. We grew up together. He helps me out with school stuff sometimes, but we are learning about different things because dad made my education program based off of what I want to learn and Alibaba has to follow the school systems plan. We went out to dinner the other day. He has been really busy with school stuff and so we haven’t seen each other very much recently. I really miss seeing him, but-” She got quieter towards the end, sensing Judal’s mood change. He didn’t look too happy right now. He interrupted her before she could continue on.

“Focus on me Chibi. I’m here. I don’t want to here about how great your boyfriend is. I asked about you, not him.”

Aladdin frowned. “He isn’t my boyfriend. He is a boy and he is a friend, but we aren’t dating or anything. We are like siblings, us dating would be really weird.”

Judal seemed to get slightly less upset, but he was still suspicious. “I see. You like to draw?”

Aladdin was glad for the subject change. “Yeah, I used to take a bunch of art classes. The teachers always said I was really good at making things life-like. I haven’t really practiced any art for a while though. Same with acting, I’m so busy I never really get the chance to do those things anymore.”

“Hmmm. Chibi, stop moving the food around on your plate and actually eat it. It goes in your mouth, and then you chew. There you go.”

“Stop, I’m not a little kid.”

“I don’t know, you look pretty little to me.”

“Five three is not that short!”

“I’d give you five two, but not five three. Besides, I was referring to other things.”

“Are you calling me flat chested?”

“No, I would be blind if I said that, I meant you are skinny as hell. I bet I could count your ribs.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what everybody wants. All the stupid producers and directors and Sinbad, they all want a freaking stick. It took me forever but I became a stupid stick for them. I want to be chosen to do things other then sing, but Sinbad turns around and offers me a job where I wear clothes that barely cover more then underwear and now I just regret all the working out and the not eating, but if I don’t stay like this then all the stupid people are going to give me crap for gaining weight.”

“So ignore them. Who cares what they think.”

Aladdin sighed. “You say that because you are perfect.” A second later she realized what she had said and turns bright red.

Judal just smiles at her, tilting his head slightly when he meets her eyes. Both of them finished eating, Judal giving the waiter his card before Aladdin could give him hers.

“You paid the last time we ate together. It’s my turn.”

“Since when does the girl pay for the date?”

“Since modern times when guys became jerks and forced them to or when the girl feels bad because the last time the guy paid for things when he wasn’t supposed to.” 

Judal just shook his head and laughed. “You seem to be rather bitter about some of your experiences, Chibi.”

Judal walked her to his car and drove her home. He walked her to her room just like last time. When she opened the door and turned to tell him goodnight, she took Kouha’s advice from earlier and kissed Judal lightly on the cheek. His eyes widened a bit before he tilted her head up to his face and brushed his lips against hers. She was shocked. He had just stolen her first kiss on the lips!

“Goodnight Aladdin.” He walked away before she could think of anything to say. 

She stood in the doorway for a moment before walking into the apartment, kicking off her shoes and pulling out her phone to text Kouha.

_Breakfast tomorrow. Judal is coming. 8AM._

_I’ll see you there. How was the date?_

_It was good. I kissed him on the cheek…And then he kissed me on the lips._

_Aladdin!!! What kind of kiss was it?_

_Kouha! I’m going to bed. Get there early and I’ll talk to you about it._

Then, to Judal:

_Breakfast tomorrow @8AM._

 

And now Aladdin has had her first kiss. Coming up, Judal is going to meet Aladdin’s friends over the next few chapters.


	15. Reunion of the Mischievous Two

Aladdin got up early. She had some time off because most of the music videos were filmed and needed to be edited and looked over for any mistakes or necessary improvements before they moved on to the last few. She climbed into the shower, relishing the hot water and the massage setting. She had to shampoo her hair twice to get rid of all the stupid hair spray and gel they had put in her hair for the shoot the day before. She had managed to brush through it and get it to look nice for Judal last night, but there was no way it was going to happen again and the stuff made her hair feel gross. She conditioned her hair really well and used a new body wash Solomon had gotten her. It smelled good, a mix of floral and fruit, peach and jasmine? Wait, what? That sounded like a really weird combination when she looked at it but it smelled good so she shrugged it off. 

She put on lotion after her shower and brushed through her hair. She made coffee then returned to her vanity to put on makeup and style her hair. She was going to curl it, but opted to just leave it straight. The usual eyeliner, mascara, and lip-gloss took five minutes with her practiced hands. She looked through her closet to pick out an outfit. There wasn’t much inside. She needed to do some laundry. She didn’t have many clean clothes left. She looked out the window but gave up and looked at the weather forecast on her phone instead. It was cold outside. And it was going to rain soon and last throughout the entire day. She moved to her dresser, looking through several drawers before finding a thick red cardigan. She pulled a casual dark grey dress out of her closet, one of the few clean items she had left. She pulled them both on and looked at herself in the mirror. I wasn’t horrible, but Kouha was definitely going to give her a lecture again. She gave up improving things after a minute and just pulled on a pair of boots, grabbing her lighter rain coat out of the closet and putting it in a pile with her purse, finished her coffee, and called a cab. 

It was raining when she exited the building and ran to the cab, rattling off the address before relaxing in her seat and looking at her phone. Kouha was about to leave his house. She texted her dad the usual good morning, then watched the rain hit the window of the taxi. When they stopped in front of the little place, she paid the man twice what she owed him, he was the driver she saw the most often, and he was always polite to her and didn’t bug her about the whole celebrity thing, which she appreciate. 

“Thanks for the ride, Sam!”

“Sure thing kid.”

She was the first to arrive. She sat at a table and ordered hot chocolate. She gave the waitress her card to run through the machine then so that neither Kouha nor Judal could pay, like they both were in the habit of doing. 

Kouha showed up ten minutes after her, rather lacking in the disguise department. When Aladdin gave him a questioning look he said, “I really didn’t feel like doing anything today. I’ll pull up my hood if I need to. I’ve had a very bad morning. MeiMei wouldn’t get up and En wasn’t in the mood to deal with Mei’s laziness so he started yelling and it was just a disaster.”

“I’m sorry. That sounds stressful.”

“Whatever, just promise to take me with you wherever it is you are going today. I don’t want to go home to any of the stepsisters. They are so freaking annoying. Please tell me you don’t have work.”

“I was just going to spend the day at home, I don’t have anything to do today. You can come if you want.”

“Ali this is why you are my favorite. So, onto more important matters while a certain someone still hasn’t arrived. How was the kiss?”

Aladdin blushed. “It was…nice.”

“Is that really all you’re going to give me? Was it passionate, sweet, did it leave you wanting more?”

“It was, well, I don’t know. It was like a promise. It was barely there. He kinda just brushed his lips against mine. It saw over in a second.”

Kouha grinned and was about to ask more when Judal entered. “Incoming.”

Judal walked over to the table and sat on one of the remaining chairs. “Chibi, this is too early in the morning.”

“You were at the coffee shop earlier than this the other day.”

“When did you become sassy.”

“Judal, its been a while.”

“Like what? Three years?”

Kouha smirked. “Something like that. The label isn’t happy that you haven’t come back yet.”

“Sucks for them. I don’t give a shit what they want. I’ll go back when I’m too bored to stay away.”

“You haven’t changed at all.”

The waitress came over and asked if they were ready to order. Kouha looked at her with interest and smiled brightly. She was a shy little thing, all innocent eyes and lavender colored hair. 

“Good morning beautiful. I’ll take the French toast and coffee.” She blushed.

Judal was still looking at the menu as he spoke. “Coffee and the original omelet.”

“I’ll have the meat lovers omelet please. And Leraje, can I get another hot chocolate please?”

She smiled at Aladdin. They had been chemistry partners before Aladdin had left school. “Of course Aladdin. I’ll be right out with your food.”

“You know her?”

“Yeah we were lab partners for a semester. She is a year older than me though.”

“Can I-”

“Kouha, I don’t know why you even ask me. If you want to go on a date with her, I don’t have any right to stop you. I don’t even know her that well. We just got along really well, she was always really nice but she is really shy.”

“I see you are still the flirt, huh Kouha?”

“Aw, jealous of my amazing ability to seduce women Judal? I could give you some tips.”

“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

The food arrived.

“Guys, hurry up and eat. I don’t want to get spotted and none of us are particularly well disguised.”

Kouha finished first, and then walked over to the kitchen area to flirt with Leraje. Judal watched Aladdin push the food on her plate around. He took some of his omelet and stuffed it in her unsuspecting mouth. She looked at him wide-eyed. 

“What did I say about eating Chibi?”

She glared at him and swallowed the food. Kouha returned. “Aladdin, you aren’t supposed to pay for the food. It was my turn to pay.”

“Kouha, you say that every time we go out. And since I invited you I think I should pay! Sometimes you should let me treat you to things, since you always do the same for me!”

He just sighed. “Fine, whatever. Your Christmas gift is going to be huge, just because of this. Let’s go, the rain is picking up. Judal you should come too.”

“And where is it you want me to go?”

“Aladdin’s place.”

Judal rolled his eyes. “Did you drive?”

“No, the family driver brought me here. I’ll call him, he can be here in five minutes.”

“My car is outside. Shut up and start walking. Red heads aren’t allowed to sit in the front seat.”

“How rude!”

Aladdin just laughed. She was glad they got along.


	16. Growing Heartbeat

Judal navigated the streets to Aladdin’s apartment, parking in the underground lot. In the apartment Kouha insisted that they play music together in the piano room.

 

“Aladdin, we haven’t practiced together in forever! You were in Australia then I was in San Francisco and then there’s now.”

 

“Calm down Kouha. We have all day.”

 

“But Aladdin we have Judal here too! That’s so much talent in one room. Let’s go.”

 

“We’re coming you little flirt. Calm the hell down.”

 

Judal slid onto the piano bench, playing a song Kouha requested. Aladdin was getting tea for the three of them and Kouha was singing along with Judal’s playing. Judal transitioned to one of Aladdin’s songs and she came in singing, harmonizing with Kouha. Judal changed to one of Kouha’s songs, then to another of Aladdin’s, then one of his own. Kouha’s phone went off after an hour of this.

 

“Hello?”

…

“What the hell Kougyoku?....Fine I’ll ask. Aladdin can Kougyoku and blonde come visit.”

 

“Um, sure I guess that’s fine. Whatever works.”

 

Kouha rattled off the address and hung up the phone. Half an hour later Kougyoku showed up with a very confused Alibaba.

 

“Um, Kougyoku, what are we doing here?”

 

(Aladdin) “Alibaba! I didn’t know you were coming. We are all in the piano room.”

 

“Hi Aladdin. I didn’t know we were coming here either. Kougyoku said she wanted to practice her singing a bit.”

 

“Hey old hag long time no see.”

 

“Judal?”

 

“So I want to continue singing with Ali and Judal so if you guys would just be quiet or choose a song that would be great.”

 

“Can we sing Sinbad’s new song?” (Kougyoku)

 

“No” (Kouha, Judal, and Aladdin together)

 

Alibaba quickly suggested one of Aladdin’s songs, which Judal started playing before anyone said anything else. Alibaba took out his guitar and started playing with Judal. Everyone took turns singing. Eventually, Judal took Alibaba’s guitar and made Aladdin play the piano part. Alibaba slid onto the piano bench next to Aladdin, much to Judal’s distaste. Judal kept glaring at Alibaba causing Kouha to chuckle before he pulled the oblivious boy off the bench and in between him and Kougyoku.

 

The day passed like this, Kouha and Kougyoku leaving midway through the afternoon after Kouen called them sounding less then pleased that they had left him with the stepsisters all day. Alibaba left a little while after that. Judal kept playing the piano, even after Aladdin stopped singing because she didn’t want to strain her voice.

 

“Do you want to eat dinner here?”

 

Judal arched an eyebrow. “You cook?”

 

“I can, but I was thinking more along the lines of pizza. I don’t feel like cooking right now.”

 

“Yeah whatever. No mushrooms.”

 

Aladdin moved into the kitchen, calling the pizza place down the street for a pepperoni pizza. The empty feeling in her chest completely forgotten she smiled, she liked feeling like this. She got a drink for Judal and herself and moved back into the piano room, placing them on the little table in the corner and dragging the table closer to the piano. Judal started playing a new melody. Aladdin relaxed, letting the music pull her in. She decided to stop worrying about what he would do and just leaned her head against Judal’s shoulder. He glanced over at her but didn’t say anything, so she took it as an okay.

 

Aladdin’s heart began beating quicker and she blushed.

 

He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he liked sitting with her like this. She was growing on him.

 

The doorbell interrupted their little moment. Aladdin’s brow furrowed. “They said it would take forty five minutes. Its only been ten.”

 

 


	17. You're Warm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The formatting is a little different now because I found an easier way to do things. Sorry if the change threw anyone off. Please Enjoy!

Aladdin opened the door to find Solomon standing on the other side.

 

“Dad?”

 

“I have the information you wanted about-” Judal comes out of the piano room and towards the door. Solomon catches himself before saying Judal’s name. “The new section of the homeschooling program. It still isn’t finished but that’s the outline of what we are adding.”

 

Aladdin catches on immediately. “Oh good I was wondering when you would be finished with that. Um, Judal this is my dad. Dad, this is Judal.” She was at a loss for what to do.

 

Solomon smiles at Judal and offers his hand, “Just Solomon is fine.”

 

Judal takes his hand. “The head of Alma Torran? I read the report you just published.”

 

“Did you?”

 

“Yeah. Great idea. Your workers are idiots though. They ask stupid-ass questions. They don’t have any common sense.”

 

“I wouldn’t say that. They just need another step before they get where they need to be.”  


“You pay them to know what questions to ask. If they can’t figure out shit that basic then you should just fire them and hire people who aren’t fucking idiots.”

 

Aladdin trying to keep things from getting any worse intervenes. “So are you staying for pizza? Or do you have plans?”

 

“Oh, no I have to go see your mom. She is about to get discharged.”

 

“Really? Does she still have to stay in bed?”

 

“Yes, but she is allowed to go out for a few hours a day now. They want her to start building her strength back up.”

 

“That’s good. You should go then. I don’t want her to have to wait.”

 

“Have fun you two.”

 

Judal raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t say anything. Aladdin just smiled. The pizza guy comes after a few minutes. Aladdin turns on a comedy movie and grabs a slice of pizza. Judal watches her for a minute before sitting down on the couch next to her. When they finish eating Aladdin leaned against Judal’s shoulder again.

 

“Does my shoulder look like a pillow Chibi?”

 

“Normally my head would be on the couch but your body is in the way so I’m improvising.”

 

“I see.”

 

“You’re warm.”

 

“Yeah, that happens when blood pumps through my veins.”

 

“No need to be all sassy. Jeez.”

 

Aladdin moved to get up and sit on the other couch but Judal rested his head on top of hers before she could move away. His arms snaked around her waist and pulled her closer. She opened her mouth to say something but changed her mind and just snuggled closer to him. Yeah, she liked this.

 

They fell asleep watching the movie like that.

 

~~~Solomon’s impression on Judal~~~

He’s bright. Those researchers were asking the wrong questions. He seemed as though he cared for Aladdin, based off the expression on his face when he mentioned Sheba in the hospital. He used too much foul language for Solomon’s taste but he could deal with it. Aladdin seemed happy with him. If Aladdin was happy, then he could deal with it.

 

 

 

 


End file.
